Combined mop and wringer with additional cleaning member



July 5 I I A. E. CLEMENTS 2,896,235

COMBINED MOP AND WRINGER WITH ADDITIONAL CLEANING MEMBER Filed May 15,1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Y x INVENTOR z mesm- E. cuemams. mgv :7, $153M- alBY arm M, Mvmm July '28, 1959 A. E. ICLEMENTS COMBINED MOP AND WRINGERWITH ADDITIONAL CLEANING MEMBER Filed May 15, 1957 2 Sheeas-Shieet'ZINVENTOR ALBERT E. CLEMENTS .ATTcRNgK United States Patent COMBINED MOPAND WRHYGER WITH ADDI- TIONAL CLEANING MEMBER Albert Edward Clements,South Harrow, England, as-

signor to A. E. Clements Limited, Chesham, England, a company of GreatBritain Application May 15, 1957, Serial No. 659,406

Claims priority, application Great Britain May 25, 1955 3 Claims. (Cl.-116) This invention relates to cleaning devices for cleaning floors andthe like of the type used on the end of a handle such as a broom handle.

According to the invention a device for cleaning floors and the like foruse with an elongated handle comprises a fixed member to be attached toone end of the handle, and carrying a cleaning surface, a movable membercarrying on one side a second cleaning surface (one of these surfacesbeing an' absorbent pad) and an operating mechanism to be attached tothe handle towards the end remote from the fixed member, and connectedto the movable member so that, on operation of the operating mechanism,one of the cleaning surfaces is swung into a position overlapping theother cleaning surface and the reverse side of one of the memberssqueezes excess moisture out of the absorbent pad.

In a preferred construction the first cleaning surface carried by thefixed member is an absorbent pad such as a sponge and the secondcleaning surface carried by the movable member is swung over theabsorbent pad and the reverse side of the movable member squeezes excessmoisture out of the absorbent pad.

The second cleaning surface is preferably of the brush type' though itmay be any other form' of cleaning surface such as a squeegee orpolishing cloth.

There is thus provided a self-contained dual purpose cleaning devicewhich may be easily converted from one use to the other and themechanism which is employed for converting the device from one use tothe other also squeezes excess moisture out of one of the cleaningsurfaces which comprises an absorbent pad.

The movable member is preferably connected to the handle or fixed memberin such a way that, on operation of the operating mechanism, the movablemember is swung from a position lying adjacent to the handle with thesecond cleaning surface uppermost to a position in which the secondcleaning surface is lowermost and the reverse side of the movable memberlies against the absorbent pad, the direction of motion of the movablemember when in contact with the absorbent pad being substantially normalto the plane of the absorbent pad. The desired motion may be imparted tothe movable member by connecting it to the handle or the fixed member bymeans of a swivel and slide mechanism, which may be obtained by fixedslots in the fixed member in which a part of the movable member slidesand slots in the movable member which slide over a fixed pivot attachedto the fixed member.

An advantage of the device is that the absorbent pad is squeezed in aflat position and is not folded over upon itself to squeeze out excessmoisture as is the case with some known devices for squeezing sponges.The life of the absorbent pad is therefore not reduced by wear andcracking along the line of the fold. Moreover since the absorbent pad issqueezed by the reverse side of the member carrying the other cleaningsurface, this other cleaning surface can be of a type, such as a brush,

Patented July 28, 1959 the brush retracted;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the device shown in Figure 1 looking inthe direction of the arrow;

Figure 3 is a side elevation similar to that of Figure 1 showing, infulllines, the position in which the absorbent pad is squeezed and inwhich the brush is in the operative position and, in dotted lines, anintermediate position between that of Figure 1 and that shown in fulllines in Figure 3.

The first and fixing cleaning surface of the device comprises anabsorbent pad 1- of foam rubber or similar material which is attached toa metal plate 2 on the back of which is obliquely mounted a short tube 3into which a broom handle 4 is fixed. Two parallel ribs 5 and: 6 areformed integral with the upper side of the tube, and spaced from thebody of the tube to provide a-pair of fixed parallel slots 7.

A movable member Scomprises a flat perforated plate 9" to one side ofwhich a second cleaning surface, in the form of a scrubbing'brush 10, isattached. Two parallel arms 11' and 12-:extend from one edge of theplate on the opposite side of the plate from the scrubbing brush atright angles to the plane of the plate and are arranged to lie'one oneach side of the tube 3. The arms are connected at their outer ends by apin 13 which passes through and can slide in the twofixed slots 7 in theribs on the tube 3. Parallel slots 14 are formed longitudinally inthetwo arms 11 and 12 of the movable member, and the endsof apin 15'fixedin the tube 3 extend through the two slots 14 forming a fixed pivotalaxis on which the movable member 8 can-swing and slide.

A lever 16 of channel cross-section is pivoted at one end to a pair oflugs 17 and 18 on a bracket attached to the handle 4 at a point towardsthe end of the handle remote from the above described mechanism. Aconnecting rod 19 is pivoted at one end to the lever by means of a pin20 passing through the flanges of the channel. The opposite end of theconecting rod is connected to the pin 13 which slides in the fixed slots7.

The operation of the device is as follows. When the lever 16 is lyingagainst the handle in its lowermost position as shown in Figure l themovable member 8 is in its retracted position, the edge of the plate 9lying against the handle with the brush 10 uppermost and the two arms 11and 12 lying one on each side of the tube 3. When the lever 16 is pulledtowards its upper position the pin 13 which passes through the fixedslots 7 is drawn up the slots by the connecting rod 17 and the movablemember 8 swings about the pivot 15 through the intermediate positionshown in dotted lines in Figure 3 until the back of the plate 9 is incontact with the surface of the absorbent pad 1. Further movement of thelever will draw the pin 13 yet further up the slots 7 and draw the plate9 tighter against the pad thus squeezing out excess moisture, until thelever lies against the handle in the upper position as shown in fulllines in Figure 3. The scrubbing brush 10 is then in the workingposition. The described mechanism is such that the motion of the platewhen in contact with the absorbent pad is substantially normal to theplane of the pad thus efi'ecting an efficient squeezing action in whichall parts of the pad are squeezed substantially the same amount. Smallgrooves (not shown) are provided in the back of the scrubbing brush toallow moisture squeezed out of the absorbent pad and passing throughperforations in the plate 9 to escape.

When the lever 16 is. in either of its extreme positions lying flatagainst the handle as shown in Figure 1 and in full lines in Figure 3the pin 20 which attaches the connecting rod 19 to the lever 16 liescloser to the axis of the handle than does the pivot point of the lever16 in the lugs 17 thus giving a self-locking snap-action to the lever.The movable member is therefore unlikely to be accidentally displacedfrom its upper or lower positions since any force tending to move themovable member away from either of its extreme positions except bymovement of the lever 16 tends to force the lever tighter against thehandle.

The absorbent pad may be, for example, a cellulose sponge or a foamedplastic sponge and the scrubbing brush could be replaced by any othertype .of cleaning surface, for example, a rubber squeegee, or apolishing cloth.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for cleaning floors comprising a fixed member, an elongatedhandle with a longitudinal axis secured to the fixed member and a headattached to said fixed member and carrying an absorbent pad with a fiatworking surface which defines an acute angle with the longitudinal axisof said handle, a movable member including a flat part having a sidecarrying a member which has a cleaning surface and a reverse side andincluding at least one arm extending approximately perpendicularly awayfrom said reverse side, said movable member being attached to said fixedmember by a pivot and slide mechanism comprising a fixed slot in saidfixed member extending approximately parallel with the longitudinal axisof said handle, a pin with a longitudinal axis attached to said movablemember and sliding in said fixed slot, a fixed pivot which has alongitudinal axis parallel with the longitudinal axis of said pin andwhich is attached to said fixed member and a slot in the arm of themovable member between said pin and said reverse side, said slot in saidmovable member sliding over .4 said pivot, and operating means attachedto said handle and operatively connected to said movable member formoving said pin from one end of said fixed slot in said fixed member tothe other end whereby the said movable member is swung-from a positionlying adjacent said handle with said cleaning surface uppermost to aposition in which said cleaning surface is lowermost and said reverseside of said movable member lies against said absorbent pad.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which said cleaning member is abrush.

3. A device for cleaning floors comprising an elongated handle, a fixedmember attached to one end of said handle and carrying an absorbent padwith a flat working surface, a movable member having a flat part havinga side carrying a member which has a cleaning surface and a reverseside, an operating mechanism for swinging said movable member from aposition lying adjacent said handle with said cleaning surface uppermostto a position in which said cleaning surface is lowermost and saidreverse side of said movable member lies against said absorbent pad andfor moving the said movable member when in contact with said absorbentpad in a direction substantially normal to the plane of the workingsurface of said absorbent pad, said movable member being attached tosaid fixed part by means of a swivel and slide mechanism, said swiveland slide mechanism comprising fixed slots in said fixed member, a pinattached to said movable member and sliding in said fixed slots, a fixedpivot attached to said fixed member and slots in said movable memberwhich slide over said pivot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS603,999 Ballam May 10, 1898 1,818,917 Wolf Aug. 11, 1931 2,695,417Bathurst Nov. 30, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 155,174, Great Britain May 8,1920 185,941 Great Britain Sept. 21, 1922 553,287 Great Britain May 14,1943

